


Hidden in Plain Sight

by selfmanic



Series: Head Cannon - Clint Barton [15]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Clint Barton-centric, Clint Needs a Hug, F/M, Hydra (Marvel), M/M, Super Soldier Serum
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-24
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-05-03 05:13:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5277989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/selfmanic/pseuds/selfmanic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha finds out a secret Clint and Phil have been hiding since his first day with Shield.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

#  Chapter 1: Natasha finds out

 

                Natasha watched horrified as Clint collapsed bonelessly to the ground, the final shot still echoing. She took the following beating silently her mind churning. Clint was dead and she was cuffed, injured, and locked in a damp cell watching Clint’s body.

                Shock, she acknowledged absently, she probably was in shock. She needed to get out and kill the ones who’d hurt her partner but instead she was watching the slowly spreading pool of blood next to his head. She watched frozen as the body before her twitched and slowly crawled to its knees.

                It was impossible, no one could be moving with a gunshot wound to the head. Clint wavered on all fours before slowly raising his head and peering at her with one eye, the other swollen shut and half his face covered in blood from the head wound. The wound was a deep furrow along the side of his skull that she forced herself to examine.

                The injury was too deep not to have caused brain damage yet Clint was crawling to the nearby tables and raiding the torture implements for weapons and lock picks with a focus that should have been impossible. She’d never been religious but in that moment she wanted to have someone to pray to, please let him be alright. He staggered upright, leaning against the table for a long moment before shuffling to the cell door and starting to pick the lock.

“Toss me a pick, Barton.” She said softly holding out her cuffed hands, hoping her partner was truly in there and not acting on instincts she couldn’t fathom. Clint blinked at her for a long moment like he was translating her words before visibly swallowing and tossing several tools to land next to her knee.

“Are you alright?” she pressed scooping up the tools and starting awkwardly on the cuffs. Clint didn’t respond, opening the cell door and handing her a gun once her hands were free.

“We’ll get you a gun.” She said checking that the safety was off and leading the way out.

                Clint held up one of the knives he’d liberated and gestured her forward when she paused at the door. He was already moving smoother but the blood loss and lack of one eye meant he would be her backup. It was standard procedure for a two man team but this time Natasha didn’t like it. They cut through the compound gathering weapons where they could but not bothering to try and complete the original mission, they needed to get Clint somewhere he could be treated. By some miracle they got out without an alarm being sounded, at least until they were out of earshot.

                She lead them to the emergency pick up coordinates that were several hours march out and had never been so relieved to see Coulson waiting with an old pick up. Clint crawled into the back without a word, she hesitated long enough checking that he was in and covered, for Coulson to start the truck before climbing in the passenger side herself.

“He’s injured?” Coulson asked mildly pulling out smoothly and heading out at a steady speed, just above the speed limit as Natasha pulled on the coverall left in the seat to cover her torn and blood stained clothes.

“He was shot in the head.” Natasha bit out glancing at the rearview mirror and angling it so she can make sure Clint’s still hidden under the tarp in the back before returning it to its original position.

“Through and through?” Coulson asked glancing at the back himself before turning back to the road with a frown.

“As far as I could tell,” She snarled wishing she could break cover enough to scream at him, “What am I missing?”

“I’ll explain once we get back on an even footing.” He said his tone still mild but he pulled out his phone and sent off several texts one handed, the car speeding up slightly. It was more of a reaction then she’d gotten before while on a mission.

                Natasha wanted to demand answers but Coulson using an emergency code phrase stopped her. He’d never used that phrase in the eight months they’d been working together so far. It was only meant for when a mission stumbled across something censored at the highest level. Three hours of tense driving later they reached the airfield and Natasha helped Clint out of the back of the truck keeping a hand on him as Coulson moved forward quickly to talk to the medics coming to meet them.

“Do you have any injuries that need immediate treatment, Agent Romanov?” Coulson asked, his face a blank mask as they approached.

“No, sir;” She said watching as the head medic, doctor she corrected absently, was quickly turning puce.

“I really must protest, Agent Coulson. You are violating protocol and putting clearly injured agents at serious risk of permanent injury and death!”

“You’re welcome to submit a formal protest once we reach New York.” Coulson said with a mild smile gesturing for them to board the waiting jet.

“I understand you’ve refused medical treatment,” the other medic said following them on board, “but I have towels, bandages, and scrubs for you to change into if you want to clean up at all.”

“Thank you.” Natasha said giving the earnest woman a small smile.

                She got Clint settled and buckled into a seat before starting to treat her own scrapes and bruises since Clint was clearly off limits until Coulson returned. Clint curled in his seat pulling his knees to his chest and resting his head on his arms. Coulson came in and took a seat on his other side as the plane started its assent.

“Can I see your face, Barton?” he asked pouring water on a handful of bandages and patting at the dried blood coating Clint’s skin when he raised his head.

“Why isn’t he talking?” Natasha asked softly, disliking how silent the normally talkative archer was. He only ever went silent during missions or if he was focused on something and even then it was rarely in public.

“I don’t know.” Coulson said with a sigh, “He’ll be checked out once we reach New York.”

                Clint jerked away with a whine when Coulson tried to touch the back or side of his head but otherwise didn’t react to the treatment he received. Natasha watched silent as her injured partner was cleaned up and a loose bandage wrapped around his wound. Small things she’d noticed while they worked together had started falling into patterns she didn’t like.

The medic from earlier approached cautiously, “He looks like he’s lost some blood. Can I at least get some fluids running?”

“If he’ll accept it,” Coulson said with a frown.

                Slowly they prompted Clint to offer his arm and he let the IV be placed and hung with only an exhausted expression. Natasha shifted closer wanting to support the injured man in some small way. After a while he slumped against her, his head on her shoulder. She glared at Coulson over the top of his head but he refused to engage her.

                It was almost a ten hour flight even with Shield technology and Coulson clearly using his authority to get them back as fast as possible. She roused the archer when they landed, only instinct keeping her from a broken nose at his lightning fast punch before he realized who she was. She kept a hand on him as he fumbled with his belts helping him discretely when she could.

                Coulson guided them down to a lower level medical wing above her normal clearance. A doctor she had never met before looked Clint over quickly before helping him change into a pair of pale blue scrubs and crawl into a hospital bed that also functioned as some sort of testing device. Blood was drawn and several scans of his head and entire body run.

                Natasha was determined to stay by his side until her questions were answered and ignored the suggestions that she leave the room for the exams. Coulson disappeared after the first few tests to deal with several calls and probably the fall out of their refusal of treatment. Natasha nearly hissed when she saw the mostly healed wounds before they were rebandaged.

“What’s the diagnosis, Doctor Ryan?” Coulson asked coming back into the room after finishing his call with the director.

“He’s healing quickly for such a massive injury. You mentioned he hasn’t spoken since the incident?”

“No words, only a few sounds of pain.” Coulson said with a frown.

“At the rate the traumas are healing he should be completely recovered in two days, give or take a day for his energy levels to recover. His speech should return sometime tomorrow. For now we have him receiving fluids and nutrients, let him rest as much as possible the next few days if you can slow him down.” She offered with a small smile that Natasha returned, Clint was well known for evading and escaping medical but considering what she’d seen he might have reason to. “Tomorrow we’ll test his reaction times and spacial reckoning as well as run a few more scans but he should make a full recovery.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” Coulson said with a nod.

“Have the nurse page me if there’s any change but I think he’s out of the woods. Try and keep him in bed if he does wake up. I want him resting, not climbing in the vents.”

“I’ll try my best.” Coulson said with a smile shaking the doctor’s hand as she left.

                Natasha waited until the doctor had left, tugging the covers up higher and smoothing out a wrinkle. She’d been promised answers, now she just had to out wait Coulson. If he refused, she’d take her demands higher up the chain of command.

“Have a seat, Natasha.” Coulson said glancing at the still form in the bed before closing the door and moving to take a seat on the couch, “This is going to be a long conversation.”

“Clint is enhanced, isn’t he?” She asked bluntly dropping into the chair by the bed and taking in the exhaustion their handler was showing in his wrinkled suit and blood stained cuffs, “He’s enhanced like I was by the Red Room.”

“He’s enhanced,” Coulson agreed, “but not exactly as you were. We don’t have a lot of information but we know his mentor and brother sold him to a splinter group from an organization like the Red Room or Department X. We found him on a random sweep of a remote compound that was supposed to be abandoned, they’d just recently moved him there and we didn’t get much information out of the remaining workers. Most seemed to think they were working at a remote hospice of some kind, the rest of the subjects died in the battle or in the weeks afterwards.”

“After Clint was recovered I was assigned to train him as an agent and integrate him into Shield. Later he was put into the general pool as a sniper, it was only after your surrender to Shield that we started allowing his abilities to be used more openly.”

“He’s been hiding his abilities since he joined Shield?” she asked glancing over the sleeping agent with a frown.

“To the general population, yes; He does run the occasional solo mission for Shield but it takes a direct order from the director to add him to high level missions.”

“I’ve never been shot in the head; the other Red Room agents I knew couldn’t have survived an injury like that.”

“We think he’s on par with Captain America but it’s hard to judge, he was given either the same serum or a similar version that wasn’t altered like the ones used on the Red Room agents.”

“Has he been injured like this before?”

“Not as serious an injury. Broken bones heal in a less than a day or so but he fell from twenty stories once and walked away.” Coulson said turning to check over the sleeping man, “He’ll push through any injury until the mission is complete and then sleep for days to heal up.”

“Will I be allowed to continue to work with him?” she asked steeling herself for the rejection; she’d enjoyed working with the archer and Coulson.

“Of course,” Coulson said giving her a bland smile as she fought to hide her relief, “as long as you don’t expose his abilities we can start sending you both on more complex missions. I was waiting to see if you would stick it out before reading you in.”

“How much of everything he’s said was a lie?”

“He was taught at a young age to hide his abilities and intelligence through years of abuse from multiple people. It’s only recently with you that he’s started to drop the idiot farm boy persona. It took years before he realized he didn’t have to do the same with me, it helped that I refused to accept that was all he was.”

“I thought it was a mask,” she said with a frown, “but he seemed to wear it constantly around everyone. It was only on missions with you that I saw it drop.”

“He doesn’t trust easily, frankly he has little reason to given his past experiences.” Coulson said standing, “Don’t give him a reason to doubt you and he’ll tear himself apart to keep you at his back and safe.”

“You’re talking too much.” Clint slurred making Coulson hurry over to check on him even as Natasha touched his hand gently.

“Sleep, Clint. You’re at Shield; Dr. Ryan is taking care of you.” Coulson said tapping one of his feet in a quick rhythm that Natasha memorized out of habit while giving Clint’s hand a light squeeze.

“Mission done?” he asked glancing at Natasha with a blurry look.

“FUBAR,” Natasha said with a snort, “They’ll send in a larger team. Go to sleep, Hawk.”

“M’kay,” Clint murmured already dropping back into sleep.

“Are we taking shifts tonight?” Natasha asked mildly eying the uncomfortable looking couch.

“I’ll have them bring in another bed,” Coulson said with a sigh, “I’ll take over at in the morning. I can work from here while he heals.”

                Natasha nodded without complaint; she didn’t mind taking the night shifts if it meant someone would have her partner’s back while he recovered. Her own injuries ached but would heal up in the next few days even with the minimal treatment she’d used. She would keep watch until he was back enough to guard himself, she owed him that much.

               She kept running over the small unguarded moments when Clint had looked at her with his hundred yard stare and laid her open with a handful of words. She’d known he wasn’t the playful idiot he liked to pretend but she’d never imagined they would have so much in common. He’d been hiding in plain sight, an ace in the hole in case Shield ever needed an extreme operative within its own organization.


	2. Chapter 2

#  Chapter 2: Clint after the Battle of New York

 

                Clint stifled a shiver and forced himself to take another bite of shawarma. The food tasted metallic like most processed foods but he knew he needed the calories. He couldn’t really remember eating or sleeping since Loki took control and he’d been working overtime and double shifts at the Pegasus facility with the cube acting up before that. Natasha was glancing at him under her lashes; probably waiting for the crash they both knew was coming.

“When do we need to get back to base?” He asked quietly another shiver catching him off guard as he pushed the food away.

“I already called in; we’ve been put off the schedule for two weeks. We can help with the cleanup as civilians but Fury wants us to keep a low profile.”

“How’s Phil? He made it through alright?” he asked smothering a yawn that he saw Rogers mirror out of the corner of one eye.

“Yes, he’s helping Sitwell deal with the cleanup.” She said glaring at Tony when he opened his mouth to make some comment shoving a soda at Clint pointedly.

“You know I don’t like soda.” He said with a sigh taking the can.

“You need the calories.” She said flatly with a hint of threat in her voice, “Drink.”

“Seriously, you don’t like soda?” Tony asked blinking as Clint yawned with another shiver.

“It tastes like chemicals, metallic.” Clint muttered, taking a sip with a grimace but forcing himself to steadily drink.

“Yeah, it does. I couldn’t drink them after the serum, not like we got them much before.” Steve said blinking at Clint in surprise.

“I’ll have to order in some waters or something then, any other dietary requirements beyond our vegan friend?” Tony asked tossing a smile Bruce’s way.

“Mostly he just eats organic, full fat and real meat but no preservatives.” Natasha put in since Clint was forcing himself to chug the last of the can.

“I can eat the processed stuff it just tastes weird.” Clint said with another yawn, “Are we finding a hotel then if we’re not heading back to base? I’m pretty sure my apartment in town was one of the blocks that got flattened.”

“You never stayed there anyway.” Natasha pointed out with a snort, tapping at her phone, “Shield is offering barracks to agents in town if we have to but it’s going to be crowded, and the hotels are going to be packed, same with the shelters.”

“What? No, you guys are more than welcome to stay at the tower.” Tony said gesturing widely, “I’ve already called Happy and he’s on his way to pick us up.”

“Good, thank you.” Natasha said with a regal nod, turning back to Clint, “When’s the last time you slept?”

“I was doing double and triple shifts with the tesseract acting up. I don’t even know at this point.” Clint said around another yawn.

“How about the last time you ate?”

“A sandwich with Phil, he made me eat and I think I had a coffee at some point.” Clint said with a shrug struggling to sort through his time with Loki.

“If that was when you were on shift that was five days ago.” She said hauling him up by one elbow, “We’ll get a ride to the tower, Stark. I think Barton’s going to crash soon and I’d rather have him already in bed then dragging him across half of the city.”

“Rude.” Clint muttered moving to grab his empty quiver and bow but everyone else was quickly standing and gathering up the extra food.

                They walked a few blocks to get around the damage to meet Stark’s driver, Happy, in a large black SUV. With how broad shouldered everyone was it was still a tight fit. Clint tried to doze but Natasha poked him every time he started to relax. He knew it was probably a good thing since he wouldn’t be moving for a few days once he got settled but he glared at her in retaliation anyway.

“Set the food in the kitchen and I’ll get everyone sorted for rooms; Bruce, you and Thor first.” Tony said pushing the bags at Steve and Clint and gesturing them towards the large kitchen to once side of what looked like a large open entertaining area before getting back on the elevator and taking the others with him.

                Clint rolled his eyes but tugged Steve after him with Natasha looking politely amused as she explored the room. They put up the food and Clint scrounged some towels that he soaked in hot water before handing them out so they could clean up a smidge. He fought his gloves and arm guard off and dabbed at a few of the deeper cuts while Steve scrubbed a towel over his face and hair.

“Take off your armor so I can check your back, you were favoring it.” Natasha said washing her hands and grabbing a towel.

“It’s fine.” Clint said flatly not wanting to deal with that particular fall out right now fighting off another shiver; he needed to sit down soon.

“Clint, let me see your back.” She said demanding watching him with hard eyes.

“It’ll heal.” He said flatly, tossing his grime covered towel into the sink.

“I don’t care, show me what he did.”

“It’s nothing, he was curious and I was his toy.” Clint snapped wrenching away when she tried to tug his armor away at the neck.

“Let me make sure it’s not too bad and I’ll leave you alone.”

“I’ve healed from worse.” He said flatly, leaning on the bar and considering the couch near the windows, the cushions were probably warm from the sun even if he’d probably ruin the fabric if his back bled.

“You’re crashing,” She said grabbing his hand and forcing him to move or hurt her from the angle. “Let me see.”

“Fuck, fine.” Clint snapped jerking down the zipper to his suit as Tony walked out of the elevator and joined them. He stripped off the bloody chest armor and turned ignoring the shocked sounds the others made.

“Where’s your under armor, the Kevlar?” Natasha asked picking up a towel and dabbing at the shredded skin of his back.

“Loki didn’t like me wearing it, he wanted it to hurt.” Clint said flatly shivering harshly.

“Right, where are we sleeping, Stark?” Natasha said, tossing the bloody towel in the sink.

“Yeah, no. That, that needs medical help. We need to get someone to look at that, stitches or something.” Tony said with a shocked look.

“Would you like me to call Shield medical?” Jarvis asked making everyone jump.

“No, I’m fine.” Clint said shrugging back into his armor but leaving it open, “Where are we sleeping, I need a shower.”

“You need a blood transfusion, I can’t let you just ignore that and die in my tower!” Tony snapped.

“He’s fine.” Natasha said grabbing Clint’s hand and pulling him to the elevator, “He just needs sleep.”

“That’s not something sleep can fix.” Steve said slowly following.

“It is for him.” Natasha said, “You’ll probably be read in later once the cleanup is underway.”

“Read in? You mean he can heal from that?” Tony sputtered, “He’s enhanced like Spangles here? How the hell did we not know that? There’s only one super soldier, how the hell did Shield hide a second one?”

“You’d have to ask Coulson.” Clint said leaning against the wall and trying not to flinch when Steve touched his arm.

“You’re cold.” He said sounding worried.

“It’s just the injuries, he needs to eat and sleep.” Natasha said hitting the button for the elevator pointedly, “Can I take him to bed yet?”

“Fine,” Tony said with a huff, “Jarvis let them in, the guest floors please.”

“Of course, sir;” Jarvis said opening the elevator doors, “Please let me know if you need anything during your stay.”

“Thank you, Jarvis.” Clint muttered stumbling into the elevator with a sigh.

“How long do you normally sleep after an injury?” Steve asked one hand on the other man’s elbow.

“A day or so but I’m normally not this wore out.” Clint said with a liquid shrug that didn’t quite look right for his frame.

“What other enhancements are there?” Tony asked tapping at his phone as they stepped off the elevator, “There are three bedrooms on this floor, take your pick.”

                Natasha guided Clint into the first one without comment. Steve forced Tony to step out so he could shut the door once Clint started stripping down with a reproving look. Clint ignored all of them concentrating on shedding his armor and setting his weapons where he’d be able to reach them later. He knew he needed a shower but he crawled into bed naked ignoring the feel of Natasha’s eyes scanning over his skin with ease of long practice.

“What do you need?” She asked tossing his bloody clothes into a pile in the corner, pulling out the few weapons he’d left.

“Nothing, just going to sleep;” He muttered tugging a pillow against his chest.

“Alright, I’ll be in the room next door, yell if you need me.”

“I can monitor everyone’s sleep if you wish and alert someone if there are issues.” Jarvis put in making them both twitch.

“Normally I would say ‘Hell, no.’ but I might need it today.” Clint said with a sigh, “We still don’t know exactly what Loki’s mind control might do.”

“You’re fine but if you want to be monitored Jarvis can let me know if you need anything.”

“There are medical monitoring sensors in the medicine cabinet in the bedroom, that way I can alert you if his condition changes.”

They exchanged a glance before Natasha went to get the sensors with a sigh. Clint put them on as directed without a word curling around a pillow and hoping he wasn’t bleeding on the sheets too much. Blood was a bitch to get out. Sleep tugged at him hard but he watched Natasha leave the room, shutting the door behind her before he finally fell into the dark with a sigh.

When he finally rolled over what felt like days later with a groan he was surprised to feel a leg pressed against his side. He blinked in the dim light rolling the other way to find Steve sitting at the headboard reading a book in the light from the bedside lamp. At some point Natasha must have gotten him into a clean pair of boxers at least.

“You’re awake.” Steve said with a grin marking his page and setting his book down, “We were starting to get worried.”

“How long was I out?” Clint muttered still trying to wake up all the way.

“Three days.”

“Fuck.” Clint groaned forcing himself to the edge of the bed and making his slow way to the bathroom.

“Are you hungry?” Steve asked, calling through the door.

“Yeah,” Clint said staring the shower and glancing down at his visible ribs, he might have lost ten pounds or more in the last week with everything but his back, the bruises, and glass cuts were healed leaving unmarked skin behind.

                When he stepped out a pair of his torn jeans, a stark industries tee-shirt, and black Shield hoodie were waiting on the bed so Natasha had been back to base to collect their gear at least. He dressed quickly discarding the medical stickers with a sigh, he hoped Jarvis hadn’t been recording everything but he knew Stark would be looking to dissect him now that he knew.

“There’s the zombie of the hour.” Tony said with a sneer as Clint walked into the kitchen/entertainment area of the loft like floor.

“How are you feeling?” Steve asked, watching him with sharp eyes like he was cataloging everything Clint did just as much as Tony was.

“Fine, where’s Natasha?” Clint asked taking a seat at the bar in the kitchen area while Bruce did something in a wok at the stove.

“She was called into Shield, something about alien technology that was falling into the wrong hands.” Tony said with a frown reading something on his tablet.

“Yeah, someone always has to try and profit from a disaster.” He said with a nod of thanks to Steve when he set a plate in front of him full of stir fried rice and vegetables.

“I think she left you a message on your phone.” Steve said gesturing towards a large duffle set to one side, “She left some bags of your things for you as well.”

“More like everything I had on base.” Clint said shoveling in the food as fast as he could chew, “Has Coulson called?”

“You mean, Agent? How did you know Phil?” Tony asked going still which made Clint pause his mindless eating, Tony was never still.

“Agent Phil Coulson? He’s my handler for over ten years now. Natasha and I work with him almost exclusively.” He said slowly watching as Tony walked to the windows starting to fiddle with his phone like he was sending a text. “Did you get to meet him, Steve? He’s a big fan. I was trying to get him to ask you to sign his cards before I got shipped out.”

“I’m sorry to have to tell you, Agent Coulson was killed on the Helicarrier. He was a good man.” Steve said fiddling with his own meal, “Fury called and said we were all off duty until further notice. He wants us off the grid and out of the media as much as possible.”

“Right,” Clint said with a nod forcing himself to keep eating, he needed the calories.

“I’ve been helping with clean up most of the time since the battle.” Steve said awkwardly, “You’re welcome to join me tomorrow morning if you want?”

“Sure,” Clint said forcing a small smile, “I just need to check in with Shield first, they might want me to come in.”

“Here,” Tony said tossing Clint a new Stark phone, “I’m upgrading the team’s phones, let Jarvis know and he’ll transfer your old phone numbers and settings to the new one.”

“Okay.” Clint said with a nod swiping and watching the phone turn on, “Thank you.”

“It’s EMP resistant, untraceable unless you have the specific override codes, makes calls from just about everywhere, and has a two month battery life as long as you aren’t playing candy crush 24/7.”

“Thanks,” Clint said again with a nod forcing himself to finish the last few bites on his plate and wash the plate calmly before moving to gather up his bags, for a second he considered taking several trips but there’s no point hiding his enhancement now.

                Grabbing everything and ignoring the small sound Tony made as he stood easily with two duffels, three bow cases, and a massive bag of weapons and armor. He moved everything into the bedroom he’d been sleeping and dropped the bag of clothes on the bed to sort while everything else got dumped onto a low table to one side. He was hoping his leather jacket was in the bag, his bones felt frozen. He unzipped the bag and went to his knees with a whine, the purple tie he’d given Phil years ago sitting staring up at him.

“Fuck.” He whimpered pulling out the strip of silk and petting it as he shuddered.

                He can’t imagine continuing on at Shield without Phil, he’d been the one to who saved him from the organization Barney and Trickshot had sold him to. He had nothing to go back to there. He’d spent half his life at Shield and now he’d been ordered to stay away.

                It probably was a good thing, he’d shot at his friends and coworkers, killed his friends and coworkers. They wouldn’t want him around. He forced himself up and dug out his phone before washing his face and dialing slowly. Six transfers later he’s connected to Fury.

“Glad to hear you’re doing better, Agent Barton.” Fury said in the polite director voice that meant people were listening in.

“Thank you, sir.” Clint said stiffly, “Captain Rogers told me we’re on stand down but I wanted to check in, just in case you needed me, sir.”

“I appreciate the offer, Agent, however right now I need you out of the media and off base. The WSC is looking for a scape goat and I’d like to steer you clear of that.”

“I understand, sir.”

“Take some time to get your head straight, son. Check in weekly but if something comes up we’ll contact you.”

“Yes, sir;” Clint said hesitating before forcing the words out, he needed to know even if the line wasn’t secure, “Sir, if I can ask, what’s being done for Agent Coulson’s funeral?”

“His family is planning a private funeral however the memorial for all fallen agents will be at the end of the month. I’ll have my secretary send you the details.”

“Of course, thank you, sir.”

“Take care of yourself, Barton. Shield needs you back in fighting shape.”

“Yes, sir;” Clint said hanging up and digging out the new phone Tony had given him. “Um, Jarvis?”

“Yes, Agent Barton?”

“It’s just Clint please.” Clint said with a sigh, “Can you transfer my contacts and information from this phone to my new one?”

“Of course, it should finish loading in just a moment.” Jarvis said as both screens flashed blue and then reset back to the opening screen, his backgrounds now matching on both phones.

“Thank you.” Clint said putting the new one in his pocket and leaving the other in his bedside nightstand, “Is there a gym here that we’re allowed to use?”

“There is however Sir has asked me to inform you that the machines haven’t been rated for enhanced strength.”

“Yeah, I don’t break things much.” Clint said with a snort, “I had months of training to get me used to lowering my strength when doing normal things. I can spar or use machines without breaking anything.”

“You might wish to inform Captain Rogers that such training exists, he seems determined to break every heavy boxing bag in the tower.”

“Seriously?” Clint asked blinking, “Coulson would have ripped me a new one for that. The only time I was allowed to break things was on solo missions when there weren’t witnesses.”

“Sir is taking it as a challenge to design an unbreakable bag; he may wish to enlist you once they are ready for testing.”

“As long as I can find somewhere to shoot and get some tumbling in I’m good.” Clint said with a shrug starting to change into a workout outfit. “So the Captain boxes?”

“He runs every morning before his shifts with the repair crews and boxes in the afternoons if you wish to join him.” Jarvis said as Clint made his way to the stairs, playing his voice through the phone in his pocket as Clint moved past the speakers. “The gyms are in the sub basements, you may wish to take the elevator, Clint.”

“Nah, it’s a good warm up. Let me know if I’m about to run into someone.” Clint said starting down and quickly picking up speed as he started vaulting the last few steps or bouncing off the railings and walls.

                He reached the gym without incident and took in the various rooms with a small grin. This was going to be fun. There was the standard gym with its weights and machines, a boxing ring along with more padded flooring to one side for other martial arts practice, a sauna, massive pool, and several hot tubs.

“Sir is still constructing the gun ranges but they should be ready in the next few weeks considering the damage from the battle.”

“That’s fine, I can head to the park or out to some of the archery lanes outside the city to practice anyway. It’s good to get some practice in real weather conditions; I normally use the outdoor obstacle courses on base.” Clint said setting up a treadmill to start a steady ground eating pace, he’d been underestimated pretty often because of his height but he could outdistance anyone when it came to long distance running.

“I’ll mention that to Sir, he might be willing to enhance one of the ranges for simulated weather conditions.”

“That would be awesome if he does; I normally just book the outdoor ranges and obstacle courses during storms.” Clint said starting to jog.

“Would you like any music while you exercise?”

“Nah, I normally use the time to think.”

“Of course, have a good work out, Clint.”

“Thanks, Jarvis.” Clint said flashing a quick smile to the camera he’d spotted to one side.

                Letting his sight go unfocused, Clint ran letting the steady pace clear his mind. There wasn’t anything he could do about losing Phil right now. He’d lost a father figure and a friend to Loki and it sounded like he might be out of a job if the WSC had their way.

                He’d have to get off the grid and lay low for a few months until something else came up to pull their attention away. He’d have to talk to Steve and Miss Potts to see what needed to be done if he was going to stay at the tower. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if they didn’t need him but if not he could always travel a bit and discretely help Natasha out.

He’d spent all of his adult life as an agent for Shield, suddenly having both his mentor and profession taken away right after he was forced to betray and kill his coworkers for an alien madman had stolen his purpose. Did he stay and help Stark? Work with Rogers?

He’d worked as a mercenary at times as part of an extended cover and could easily pick up similar jobs but he knew he worked best with a home base and team. He just wasn’t cut out to be a loner no matter how good he seemed to be at it sometimes. He got lonely without a partner to keep him balanced and would get too deep into the cover or let the violence and anger well up until he hardly recognized himself.

The treadmill made a warning beep before starting to slowdown forcing him to slow with it. He killed the machine completely hopping off and moved to the mats. There wasn’t much gymnastic equipment for him to use but he could do some basic sword and martial arts forms for a few hours. He blinked out of his focus sometime later when the lights blinked erratically.

“Jarvis?” Clint asked hesitantly slowly straightening out of his instinctive crouch as the lights came back up, he’d leapt off the mat to a more defensible position on instinct.

“I apologize for the interruption, Clint.” Jarvis said, “You were not responding to verbal attempts.”

“Yeah, I do that training sometimes.” Clint said making a face as he grabbed a bottle of water and towel, “Did you need something?”

“The others are ordering in for dinner and wished to know if you wanted to join them?”

“Uh, yeah, let me go get cleaned up and I’ll head up.” Clint said tugging off his shirt and wiping down his chest. “Is Miss Potts going to be there? I kind of wanted to talk to her about something.”

“She will be joining the meal however might be late as traffic is not cooperating at the moment with the repairs and construction underway.”

“That’s fine.” Clint said with a shrug.

                The elevator deposited him on the guest floor again and he went to the bedroom he’d been using, taking a long shower. If he cried a bit for Phil, well, there were no cameras in the shower to record it. Hair still a bit damp he pulled on jeans, a tee-shirt, the pull over sweater Phil had bought him for his last birthday, and boots before snagging his phone and checking for messages as he rode the elevator up to where ever they were eating.

                 It turned out to be on another open floor planned loft with a large balcony to one side of the spacious kitchen and dining area. Bruce, Steve and Tony sat around the space with drinks clearly waiting for him and Pepper to arrive. Clint stuffed his phone away; there was a short message from Natasha saying she’d be out of pocket for a few months at least and another reminder from AD Hill to check in next week.

“There’s the gym rat.” Tony said standing and moving to the long bar along one wall, “What would the Hawk like to drink?”

“Nothing, I’ll just grab a water or something.” Clint muttered moving towards the kitchen.

“Nonsense, I insist, the bar is open, my friend. What do you want?” Tony said with a professional celebrity’s smile all teeth and empty eyes.

“Nothing, I don’t really drink.” He said grabbing water from the fridge and trying to ignore the scent of whiskey that followed Tony as he walked over.

“You don’t drink?”

“My old man was a drunk.” Clint said with a shrug, moving past everyone and out onto the balcony to lean against the railing. He’d figured Tony would press the issue but it’s Steve who took the spot next to him a few minutes later.

“I’m sorry. Tony’s just used to playing host to other celebrities, I think.” Steve said with a small grimace gesturing with the colorful mixed drink he wasn’t drinking.

“It’s fine.” Clint said with a shrug, trying to stuff the bad memories back, distracting himself with the people walking so far below them. “Don’t like the taste?”

“The taste is fine; it’s just not what I normally had.”

“Beer or whiskey?”

“Rot gut gin during the war.” Steve said with a laugh, “Potato vodka whenever someone could afford it before that.”

                They both glanced in when Pepper arrived happily giving Tony a kiss and a quick hug to the blushing Bruce. Steve glanced at Clint before heading in himself leaving it up to the archer to follow if he wanted. Stealing himself he slid in, the random anecdotes that Phil had told him about the woman filtering past his inner ear. Phil had counted her as an ally and friend so Clint would do the same until she proved him wrong.

“I heard you were close to Phil, Agent Barton. I’m sorry.” She said as she drew him into a quick hug.

“He was a great man.” Clint muttered fighting the urge to run; she must have seen it because she backed off giving everyone a quick blinding smile before changing the subject.

“I’m afraid I may have asked Jarvis to order a bit much so I hope everyone is hungry.” She said hooking her arm through Tony’s and starting the buffet line, the kitchen counters now weighed down with large trays of Chinese food.

“It look wonderful, Miss Potts.” Steve said with a small shy smile taking the plate offered.

“Pepper, please.” She said glancing over the others to include them in the request.

“Clint.” Clint muttered even as Bruce did the same, no one was immune to the woman’s charms it seemed.

                It was a nice dinner with Tony and Bruce talking science while Pepper kept Steve and Clint entertained and asked about their day. Being around her made him miss Phil worse, she had the same competence and hidden spark that he’d loved about his handler. Clint stuck to the milder dishes waiting to see how his body was going to react after sleeping so long, normally he was fine but once or twice since the serum he’d gotten sick if he ate too much when he woke.

“Jarvis mentioned you wanted to talk to me about something?” Pepper asked as they were cleaning up Steve and the others just out of earshot.

“Well, you and Steve.” Clint said with a glance at the man who he knew could hear them, “I don’t like being idle, Shield always kept us busy on missions or training. I was wondering if you had any use for me. I’ve worked as a bodyguard or I could help with security around the tower.”

“I’ll have to talk with Tony but I’m sure we could find you something to do.” Pepper said with a nod and he could see her mind already working on the problem.

“Steve’s offered to let me help with the cleanup teams and I’d like to do that while it lasts.” He said glancing at the Captain and getting a nod, “Shield wants Natasha and me out of the media so it can’t be anything too overt but I like to stay busy and I’ve been ordered to stay away from Shield so I’m kind of out of a job right now.”

“I’m sure between the two of us we’ll be able to find enough to do.” Steve said stepping closer, “I wouldn’t mind helping out around the tower if it’s needed as well. There’s a lot of damage here that needs to be cleaned up too.”

“We already have engineers and workers repairing the tower and gutting a few of the upper floors for a remodel.” Pepper said with a secretive smile, “Give me a day to get things finalized and I’ll come to dinner tomorrow with some options.”

“Thank you, Miss Potts.” Clint said with a small tired smile.

“Pepper, please.”

“Right,” Clint said fighting back a sigh, he’d been in a military organization for too long, it felt wrong to call people by their first names.

                Natasha had said he needed to get out into the world more. Maybe this would be his chance, he thought looking over the assembled group as Pepper dragged Tony and Bruce over for an after dinner coffee. Clint took a seat to the back of the group and glanced out the city filled windows, maybe it was time for him to try something new. Phil had always pushed him to learn new things, maybe it was time to get some distance from Shield and see how he faired.

 


	3. Chapter 3

#  Chapter 3: A new job

 

                The next morning Clint forced himself out of bed and went running with Steve no matter how much he wanted to curl up and cry or sleep so he didn’t have to think. He forced himself to move, happy that Steve wasn’t forcing a conversation. He surprised the other man with some relaxed parkour that got a laugh out of him even if it was clear he wasn’t keen on joining in much, at least not yet. They settled into a ground eating pace that ate up the miles before looping back to the tower.

                It was still early but Bruce was in the kitchen sipping tea when they arrived. Steve made a massive omelet for both of them while Bruce had yogurt before the two of them headed out to join the cleanup crews. Clint dressed like an off duty military soldier and offered Steve a change of clothes that was refused, he’d spent too long in Shield to hide all his training but a retired soldier was something he could play easily enough. Hiding in plain sight was generally a skill he’d mastered and the general public never looked deep enough to see the true killer wandering among them, only Coulson and Natasha had always been able to pick him out in the field.

                He even managed to lose Steve a few times by blending in with the dust and grime covered workers later in the day. He mostly did it to test the Captain and see if they needed to up his training but the man caught on quickly enough and just looked annoyed. For the most part Clint just focused on the work, the steady loading of rubble and debris was mindless enough that he could at least partly relax letting the workman cover take over while the soldier faded into the background.

                They walked back to the tower, both of them content to be silent which Clint was grateful for. He could see Steve thinking and was waiting for him to demand answers but instead he was left alone. They rode up to the common level in silence, Steve only glancing up when Clint bypassed the kitchen.

“If you’re hungry I should have dinner ready in an hour or so.” Steve said mildly, Clint pausing at the staircase.

“Sure, I’m gonna get cleaned up.” Clint said suddenly uncomfortable.

                He escaped to the room he’d been given glad to see that it looked like nothing had been touched even if the bed was remade with clean sheets. He checked his phone but there were no texts or messages. Natasha never contacted him while on a mission; it had been Phil who kept Clint company when the walls got too much for him. He’d have to find a way to cope without the handler now.

 

***

 

“Why were you skulking about earlier? We don’t exactly have to hide from anyone on the repair crews.” Steve said serving them both a steak and baked potato.

“Just keeping in practice,” Clint said with a shrug, glancing around the room before he forced himself to look at the man, “Do you remember what you were doing at fifteen?”

“I met Bucky when I was fifteen; I was in the orphanage after my mom passed.” Steve said with a small smile, “What about you?”

“I’d been sold to the splinter Hydra cell by my brother, Barney, and my mentor, Trickshot. Before that I was just a half deaf uneducated kid working at the circus, the only good thing I had going for me was my aim.” Clint said with a snort. “Did you ever read my real file or the one that said I was in the military or a merc?”

“It said you were a merc for several years before joining Shield.” Steve said slowly.

“I never was a merc even if I did act the part on several missions.” Clint said with a sigh hacking at his food absently, “Phil got me out of that snake pit and put me into training with Shield, I spent my sixteenth birthday learning how to take apart a sniper rifle and not break it while I rushed through a timed rebuild.”

“You’ve been with Shield since you were fifteen?”

“Yeah, Phil was legally my guardian until I turned twenty five.”

“So the ghosting thing, was what? Habit?” Steve asked fiddling with his fork.

“Pretty much, that and I wanted to see if you’d notice.” Clint said around a bite of steak, gesturing for Steve to start eating, “Only a few people notice and I wanted to see if you were one.”

“Who are the others?”

“Just Natasha and Fury that you know, a handful of other shield agents.”

“And the ones who know about your enhancements?”

“About the same, a few of Shield’s higher ups probably do,” Clint said with a shrug, “Fury said he was going to bury the information, maybe he did.”

“How much training did you get exactly? You’re an assassin, archer, soldier, and can fly planes. What else?”

“Pretty much anything Phil thought I might need.” Clint said with a shrug, “We probably need to work on your training as well; Jarvis said you’re still breaking boxing bags.”

“You were trained to restrain your strength?”

“Just to hide it unless it was really needed, I was just a regular soldier to everyone and I had to stay that way.”

                The elevator dinged and Pepper walked out, pausing outside the elevator to take of her shoes with a sigh. Natasha called shoes that tall and expensive “power shoes” and ranked them as a statement of wealth and class. Clint was pretty sure all of Pepper’s shoes would have been at the top of her estimation.

“Tony and Bruce are locked down in the lab doing science. I hope you don’t mind if it’s just me joining you for dinner?” She asked taking off her earrings and watch and setting everything on a side table near the couches.

“You’re more than welcome.” Steve said standing and grabbing the rest of the steaks to put on the grill, “How do you like your steak?”

“Rare.” She said with a teasing grin, “I’ll fix up a salad to go with, do you want any?”

“No, thank you.” Clint muttered, Steve echoing him.

                Pepper poured a glass of wine and sat nibbling her salad while Steve worked the grill. She handed a small tablet to Clint as almost an afterthought when Steve came back in. She beamed as he handed her a plate with her steak.

“I have a few questions for you and Steve and a small surprise but this is what Stark Industries is willing to offer you as a position.” She said handing Steve another tablet.

“What are we being offered exactly?” Steve asked even as he started scrolling through the legal documentation.

“There are a few options. I’d like you and Clint to work as Security for SI and help coordinate efforts with Shield. You would be overhauling our security here at the tower and in town for now but if things show promise we can move it to all our offices and factories. With the Avengers and Ironman now out as a team we’re going to have backlash against the company and I don’t want people getting hurt just for working here.”

“Steve, I was thinking you could help mostly with Shield while Clint keeps his distance since the WSC seems to be gunning for him more right now.” She said nibbling at her salad.

“Is that definite?” Clint asked, he hated how out of the loop he was right now. He’d get with Jarvis after the meeting and make sure he was caught up.

“Director Fury mentioned that you’d been requested several times now for interviews by the WSC, he’s been blocking those requests.” Pepper said taking a moment to cut up her steak. Clint let her eat; the WSC had been known to remove potential problems by requesting interviews. “Steve, it sounded like you’d be working with Natasha when she gets back from her latest mission, Fury mentioned additional training.”

“That would be good.” Steve said giving Clint a glance, “I’m starting to think I have a lot to learn.”

“I also took the liberty of setting up new bank accounts for you both though SI; Jarvis controls all transfers in and out and keeps the data on his servers making it very secure.” Pepper added.

“And making it impossible for the WSC to hack,” Clint said with a nod, “I’ll talk with Jarvis later about moving my other accounts. It wouldn’t hurt to have an extra eye on things.”

“You really think that’s necessary?” Steve asked frowning at his plate.

“The WSC is the final veto at Shield and I’ve seen them take illegal or at least immoral measures at times.” Clint said with a shrug, “They are the ones who ordered the nuke in the battle, Steve. Fury tried to stop it but they knew he would and had a backup. I’ve never trusted them.”

“What about Fury? How well do you know him?” Steve asked ignoring how still Pepper had gone.

“I worked under Director Fury and Agent Coulson for fifteen years.” Clint said mildly, “I would have trusted Coulson with my life but Fury is watching out for the good of the world; if the world’s safety means we lose a few soldiers, he’ll order you into the breach without a second glance. You’re a cog in the wheel to him, no matter how much you’ve done for him. Fury will lie to your face in a heartbeat if it means his plans continue to roll.”

“Surely he can’t be that bad? You worked for him for that long.” Steve protested.

“He’s not that bad overall but if it’s your life versus the planet, he’d shoot you himself.” Clint said with a shrug.

“The files we received from Agent Coulson said you’d been with Shield 8 years.” Pepper said mildly nibbling at her potato.

“Yeah, I need to get you guys the real files.” Clint said pushing his plate away, “Those are the public record ones.”

“Well, there’s a bit of paperwork I need you both to do once you decide. Jarvis will have it ready for you. Also, we’re redoing the personal floors and would like your input, colors, personal preferences, that kind of thing. I also want you both to talk to Jarvis about the standard intake questionnaire. It lets him anticipate everyone’s needs better if he’s got some basic information to work from.”

“Of course, when do you need it done by?” Steve asked standing and moving to the fridge to grab refills of drinks for everyone.

“Any time in the next few days,” She said turning back to her food, “Next week I’d like to take you both on a tour of the local businesses and offices if you agree to the contracts.”

“Sure, do you mind if I head up and start looking this over?” Clint asked standing with the tablet and taking his dishes to the sink. He quickly cleaned everything ignoring Steve’s small protest before saying goodbye to them both and taking the elevator to his room.

                He absently wished Natasha was there just so he could bounce ideas off her but he knew she needed the space right now. She trusted very few people completely and to have almost lost two would have sent her world view into a tailspin, even without the aliens. Clint was more practical, Natasha would run and lose herself in work, wearing whatever mask and identity Shield asked her too. Clint knew he’d lost his center with Coulson gone. When you lost your balance on the tightrope you didn’t freeze, you ran forward trusting your center to find you.

“Jarvis, Pepper mentioned a questionnaire?” Clint said drafting an email to Assistant Director Hill explaining the job offer from SI and requesting to be put on leave until such a time as he needed to be called in.

“Yes, Agent Barton. Are you ready to begin?”

“Sure.” Clint said with a sigh, sending the email and moving into the more open living room area to practice katas.

                What followed was the strangest survey he’d ever answered. Favorite colors, scents, allergies, foods he disliked, foods he loved, favorite take out, the questions covered everything from what times he generally ate to what equipment he’d want in an ideal gym. He had no idea what brand of toothpaste he used, it was toothpaste. He requested unscented as much as possible or light herbal scents if it wasn’t.

A lot of the questions meant little to him; he’d spent the last 15 years with his wardrobe, rooms, and meals provided by Shield. He told Jarvis as much with a shrug but did request a nice kitchen; he’d enjoyed cooking for Phil whenever he’d stayed at his apartment. One of the few training lessons he’d requested was learning to cook; it had been turned into a mission where he worked at a minor chef at a five star restaurant which had been both amazing and horrible by turns.

                He reviewed several possible layouts and finally voted for one with an open floor plan but with several reinforced bolt holes and weapons lockers. It never hurt to be over prepared or paranoid at times. He accessed the internet news while Jarvis questioned him and started asking his own questions. He’d been locked out of all his normal Shield access so he used Jarvis to help aggregate various site and searches.

                So far the world was still scrambling to believe that aliens existed much less that they were a threat. It looked like the major players of Europe and Asia were at least sitting up and paying attention. The little intelligence chatter he could find indicated everyone was starting to plan for future invasions and to stockpile what they might need. Clint approved, if one species could drag another to Earth then what was stopping the dozens of other realms and planet from stopping by?

                He said as much to Jarvis and spent an hour laying out exactly how he’d reinforce the city against another such attack if it was up to him. Clint knew Jarvis would give the conversation to the people who could make things happen or at least get it to Pepper who would force some of the changes simply because it would save lives. He knew that they could count on Shield and the WSC only so much and Clint was betting that the WSC would be fighting them soon enough, no one liked when powerful weapons started thinking for themselves.

                That had been his biggest argument with Phil. Coulson had wanted him to come out of the shadows and join Captain America in the upcoming battles. Clint had refused; he could do more if he was underestimated by the world then if he became just another poster boy for the super serum. Most people immediately assumed that his eyesight and aim were products of the serum and not that Clint had spent five years at the circus having his work ethic and aim beat into him by Trickshot before he was ever exposed to the serum.

                He spent the rest of the night searching the internet and Jarvis’ servers for information. He started a series of folders on a secure server that Jarvis offered and compiled notes on all the current major players he thought they needed to keep an eye on. The list was rather large and it took a bit for Jarvis to get used to how he worked but they quickly fell into a rhythm of research, Clint or Jarvis hacking into various servers and systems for the information they needed.

                It was dawn before he was ready to stop. They had a decent start to a risk analysis on how the world would be reacting now that aliens were a reality along with super heroes.  Jarvis was continuing to compile and slot information into place and Clint left him to it, a lot of the information he’d pulled in had been from Shield or other various government organizations. He’d pulled in what he knew would effect Stark Industries as well, outlining ways the company could prevent possible internal sabotage and staffing issues as people realized how dangerous it could be to work for a super hero.

                Villains would think nothing of kidnapping random employees or valuable ones if they got the chance, especially if it gave them an edge on Stark and his inventions. Miss Potts was the obvious target to force Stark’s hand but he’d never notice the mail room clerk had been replaced with a lookalike who started taking a handful of letters and documentation at a time. They would need to massively beef up security at their office, labs, and factories if things progressed the way Clint was thinking.


	4. Chapter 4

#  Chapter 4: Same Old Things

 

                Clint’s days fell into a pattern quickly. He would work out or spar with Steve the mornings when he wasn’t on missions or training with Natasha. When Steve was out of town he ran the streets on his own, darting along paths that would have made Steve crazy, across rooftops and dodging surveillance systems. He spent the rest of the work day working with Pepper to update the security on the tower and the other in state factories and business offices. What worked there would be implemented at the other sites in the coming year.

                He continued to work on his database and research at night when Steve was out but when he was in the tower Clint found himself roped into meals and movies, sparing matches, and book discussions. Steve seemed to enjoy the company so Clint didn’t complain; he was enjoying himself with the surprisingly easy company of the Captain.

                In retaliation for several days of Steve forcing Clint to make different meals they’d talked about he took them both out for dinner to some of his favorite haunts in New York, old dinners and hidden gleaming wood filled speakeasies that Phil had introduced him to. He missed Phil like he’d lost a father but he thought he’d be proud of him continuing to push on, Phil had never liked his charge to be idle.

                The next morning after they’d cleaned up and had breakfast Clint took Steve to Phil’s tailor. They would both need suits if they were working for Stark Industries. The place was an old New York standard and a lot of government agents used the place since they tailored around weapon holsters and allowed for more movement then most would demand out of a suit.

“Hello, Benjamin.” Clint said with a smile leading the way into the back of the shop when they arrived, Steve trailing behind him uncertainly.

“Clint! How are you? I have an order for Phil ready if that’s what you came for.” The older man said standing from his work bench where pieces of a suit were laid out marked with chalk.

“No,” Clint said forcing himself to pull on a polite mask, “I need a few suits and Steve here needs at least one.”

“It’s nice to meet you, sir.” Steve said with a nod moving to one side to look over a rack of suits, awkwardly giving Clint privacy even if it didn’t mean much with his enhanced hearing.

“I can measure you both this morning, no problem.” Benjamin said with a nod, “It will be a few days for the suits to arrive. Do you mind taking Phil his order? He already paid and I tried to deliver to his apartment but no one was home.”

“Phil,” Clint cleared his throat and forced himself to continue, “Phil died in the attack, Ben. I don’t even know when the funeral is going to be yet.”

“Oh, no. I’m so sorry.” Benjamin said going still, “Would I know any others?”

“They restricted my access, Ben. You’d have to ask someone else.” Clint said glancing away.

“I’ll call Assistant Director Hill then,” the older man said with a nod, “I’ll supply suits for the funerals if she’ll allow it.”

“Shield does cremation for all members unless you ask otherwise.” Clint said fighting to keep his mask in place and his emotions back, “I know Phil wanted a Jewish burial so he’ll need one.”

“Good.” Benjamin said with a nod pushing the matter aside, “How have you been? Still running missions?”

“I’m on leave with Shield and Steve’s taking training runs. We’re both working for SI until further notice.” Clint said watching his silhouette in one of the many mirrors scattered about and tweaking his posture until he looked at ease ignoring the press of Steve’s eyes watching.

“Stark Industries?” Benjamin said slowly pulling out his tools and gesturing for Clint to step up onto the small platform to one side and handing him a thin strip of black material, “They sent me a new fabric, thin, light weight and the strength of Kevlar. I’m integrating it into all the agent’s suits. I’ll add a lining to your order as well.”

“Sounds good,” Clint agreed tugging at the fabric with increasing strength but it didn’t budge in his hands and he didn’t want to try full out and scare the older man.

“You’ve lost weight, I’ll have to work up a new suit for these measurements.” Benjamin said with a frown.

“Just the one, please.” Clint said with a sigh stepping down and waving Steve to take his place, “It’s been a rough few weeks and I should start getting back into form soon. The rest of the suits probably need to be my old measurements.”

“There aren’t any prices,” Steve muttered uncertainly as he took his place on the platform.

“It’s my treat.” Clint said with a tired smile, “You’ll need a suit if we wind up at any of Stark’s parties as security.”

“I’m kind of hoping they’ll put me with Romanov soon, it sounds like her mission is wrapping up.” Steve said softly not sure how much they wanted the tailor to hear.

“Will Miss Natasha be in town soon? I have a dress she might be interested in as well.” Benjamin said continuing to measure Steve and note things down on a small pad.

“She’ll be in and out, Shield is running her around.” Clint said with a small huff of laughter at Steve’s face, “I’ll let her know to drop by.”

“All done, son.” Benjamin said standing with a wince and moving back to his workbench. “Where do you want it all delivered? Your apartment, Clint?”

“No, my place was leveled in the attack. I’m staying in an SI apartment.” Clint said handing over a card with the address, “Steve’s there as well. SI is putting up a lot of their workers who lost housing.”

“You’re at the Tower?” Benjamin asked with a raised eyebrow, “Moving up in the world, son.”

“Not that far up.” Clint said with a small smile, “Thank you for seeing us short notice.”

“For you? It’s no bother. Come see me again when you manage to destroy this set.” Benjamin said with a laugh showing them out.

“What does he mean, when you destroy them?” Steve asked as they started walking.

“His shop has a discounted replacement policy but you have to return the damaged suit. Phil’s been back after too many missions lugging in cut and charred jackets and water logged leather shoes, Ben also offers military and government discounts.”

“He seems like a nice guy.” Steve said glancing at Clint before falling silent.

                They walked back to the Tower going the long way through a park. Steve seemed content to stay silent and Clint left it brooding as they walked. Everything in New York and at Shield reminded him of Phil. There was the pizza place they had went to once that Phil deemed substandard, there was the Italian place that he’d loved to go to when they had a few days off, there was the corner store they’d stop at sometimes when he was spending the night at Phil’s apartment in town.

“What are you planning for lunch?” Steve asked once they were a block or two from the tower.

“Nothing, really.” Clint said with a shrug, “Did you want to do something?”

“Would you want to spar?” Steve asked slowing down, “Or we can go get a coffee and sit for a while?”

“Do you want to go get your sketch book first?” Clint asked absently, his mind running through which coffee house to try. He was too stuck in his head today and if he sparred he’d react on instinct and hurt someone.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.” Steve said with a grin picking up his pace.

                Clint went up and hung out on the common level but no one was around. He was starting to shadow Miss Potts as her body guard next week and hoped it would be enough to distract him. If things didn’t pick up soon he’d be begging Shield for wet work assignments just to try and clear his head of the constant thoughts of Phil.

                Steve joined him and they headed down, both content to just be moving for now. The coffee house they finally turned into was a small local neighborhood café that was mostly empty as they found seats near the window and settled in. Steve pulled out his sketch book and people watched, pencil moving across the page almost absently sketching out random faces and buildings around them. Clint was happy to just sit and watch him work.

“How are you liking working for Miss Potts?” Steve asked after a while, his eyes on his drawing.

“I’m probably going to request some work from Shield soon.” Clint said with a shrug, “I’m used to being pretty busy and it’s a bit too slow for me.”

“You’ve been busy,” Steve said with a frown, “Today’s the first real day I’ve seen you just relax. You’re always in the gym or working on paperwork for SI.”

“You’ve been pretty busy yourself with all the training Shield has been having you do.” Clint said with a shrug, “I need to keep in shape in case I get called in and it never hurts to learn something new.”

“I agree but everyone needs some downtime. You’ve been logging a lot of hours with Jarvis as well.”

“What, are you monitoring me?”

“I just don’t want you getting burnt out.”

“It’s none of your concern.”

“I wouldn’t want to go out in battle with someone too tired to do their best, you need to sleep.”

“I’m sleeping fine.” Clint snapped standing and dropping some cash on the table, Steve a heartbeat behind him as he stormed out of the café.

“You need some downtime, Soldier.” Steve snapped hauling him into a passing alley, Clint twisting out of his hold only to fetch up against the brick wall behind him.

“I’m fine.”

“Somehow I doubt that.” Steve said softly, “You lost someone important to you and now you’re running head first into missions without taking time to get your head straight. I’ll report you myself if that’s what it takes to keep you from getting shot.”

“I’m enhanced, Steve, just like you.  I don’t need as much sleep or downtime.”

“Even I need downtime, Clint.” He said stepping forward and boxing in Clint against the brick.

“You really don’t want to do that.” Clint said his voice going rough.

“Do what?”

“Pushing me.”

“What you going to do about it short stuff?” Steve asked pressing forward and Clint exploded, lashing out before his brain could catch up with the motion.

                Steve lasted three blows before Clint broke his jaw, collar bone, and one arm. He backed off as the super soldier gasped, kneeling in the trash covered alley. Steve wiped the blood off his mouth and eased the bones of his forearm back in place with grunt.

“I’m not going to stop pushing.” Steve gritted out staggering to his feet.

“You’ll get hurt.” Clint ground out, his voice raw.

“I’ll heal.” Steve said with a bloody smile, “Want to go back to the tower and watch a movie?”

“You’re nuts.” Clint said turning and jogging off.

                He wasn’t sure how long he’d been running, zig zagging back and forth through the city before his phone started going off. He silenced it and shoved it back in his back pocket dragging in a deep breath as he took in his surroundings. He was on a bridge he didn’t recognize, scummy water eddying below him, slick with oil and the banks marked with trash. His phone went off with Natasha’s ringtone and he answered with a sigh.

“Hey, Nat.” Clint said running one hand through his hair in frustration.

“Why am I getting reports that you beat up Captain America. He claims it was a training accident but Hill benched him for a week thanks to the injuries.” She asked sounding exasperated.

“He’ll be healed by tonight.” Clint said with a snort.

“What did he do?”

“Cornered me.”

“I’ll talk to him.” She said with a hum, “Maybe I can talk Fury into letting you fly supply runs or something.”

“Ben says hi, he wants you to go in to look at a new dress.” Clint said after the silence had stretched on for too long.

“You went to the shop?”

“Took Steve, we both need suits for working at SI. Ben’s adding a new synthetic Kevlar to all the agent’s suits. He had a few suits waiting for Phil to pick up. I couldn’t even stretch the stuff, would have worked good.”

“You told Ben?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t stay out too late, I want to go to bed before midnight.” She said before hanging up on him.

“Yeah, thanks.” He said to the dial tone before putting up his phone.

                He dialed Jarvis and asked if he could send a cab his way. An hour later he was back at the tower and trudging the way up the stairs to his new floor. Stark had finally let them move in a few days ago and it was more neutral then he was expecting for Stark. Miss Potts had apparently gotten her way about leaving things for the occupants to change.

                He’d left his floor in the greys and dark muddy blues it came in, the only thing he’d added was some brackets on one wall for a few bows he kept. They’d been at Phil’s apartment, it had already been cleaned by Shield so it was stripped of any weapons or paperwork but his bows had been waiting in the storage locker where he’d left them alongside Phil’s convertible, Lola.

                He showered and changed into a pair of pajama bottoms before crawling into bed with a book. He didn’t have to wait long before Natasha joined him. They tumbled together like siblings, taking comfort from each other without expecting anything past the night.


End file.
